Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Here's an outstanding article about milk production around the world. The people's milk, which is produced by small farmers and individuals, is being destroyed by various schemes and investments by the big guys.

So it works this way. Try to make sense of it. Stop buying milk from small farmers which destroys their livelihoods and herd. Import cattle to replace the small farmer herds and put then on massive dairy farms. Charge 6x retail what it cost to buy from a small farmer. Somehow, the modern method is better? Not to mention the nutrient quality. Whih milk is going to have more nutrition? A small farmer's herd that grazes local pasture or large dairy farms where there is standing room only and the cattle is fed feed? And let's not mention the pollution.

Local breeds of dairy animals that supply the people's milk system, whether cattle, goats, buffaloes or camels, have the resilience and low-input efficiency that small farmers and pastoralists need to withstand the precarious conditions created by climate change. It is their livestock systems that require support, not the "investors", who get all kinds of generous tax breaks, donor funds, and other incentives from governments.

Monday, December 19, 2011

A must watch speech by Greg Palast. He covers many subjects. A classic sleuth, he uncovers the filth that is the now the norm. From oil spills, to quake-fail nuclear reactors, to vultures, to Occupy Wall Street , he covers the latest events of 2011.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

LOL! Here's a mock interview of Don Jon Corzine, formerly the head of the imploded MF Global, which is still allowed to trading in the markets using their internal funds! Max Keiser recently came on board to spill the rumor that Jon Corzine was threatened by Chase's Jamie Dimon. Don Jon was given two options, either steal from the private accounts to pay back Chase's loan or swim with the fishes.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Alas, suspicions are being confirmed that banking and finance are societal predators feasting on the productivity of others. It is a mix of gullible, naive, and/or corrupt masses who wait for that piece of food to be thrown over the side of the grand dinner table, which entertains the fat cats, while they feast up the productivity of the masses.

As the article points out it is the top 1% that are liabilities while the bottom 20% are the real producers of the economy. As I've asked before, without the cleaners, manual laborers, gardeners, waiters, cooks, cashiers, what would the quality of life be for the rest of us 80%?

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

It seems out of reach... Only a dream at this point... Putting 2000+ EXECUTIVES IN JAIL. That was before it should 20000+ now.

I just finished watch the 60 Minutes report titled Prosecuting Wall Street. Once again, 60 minutes is 60 months behind. When they interviewed the guy from the Dept of Justice and asked why they haven't brought any cases against the big boys, the reply was that anger should not determine if we bring a case, and that it took several years to bring a case. Well isn't it more than several years since 2008. If I was the interviewer, I would told the Dept of Justice guy that William K Black, the guy that put 2000 executive in jail in the late 1980s says the fraud is even bigger this time and that he would be happy to be given the opportunity to work on fraud cases.

"The group that has the audacity to refer to itself as the productive class is the largest destroyer of lives, of jobs, and of wealth of any group ever produced in this world. They wiped out 6 million existing jobs and 5-6 million jobs that would have been created. ... They've left 26 million Americans wanting fulltime work, with no ability to find that work. If you look at just losses in the household sector, it is 11 trillion dollars. ... And then they had the nerve to say they are the productive class." -- William K Black

The bit about Alan Greenspan opposing regulation and prosecution of S&L in the 1980s is something I haven't heard before. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Imagine what would happen to you if you didn't pay your taxes. You would get hit with interest and fines up to your nose. Let's not mention the threatening letters to repossess your property or license to operate.

Apparently, there's a two tier law book. Why would businesses not pay their taxes in an orderly manner if they are going to get hit with massive penalties? Could it be they don't pay penalties or the amount owed? Does the amount get forgiven or written off?

Some interesting comments:Actually, Brookfield got a waiver on zoning regulations to build a taller and more profitable building in exchange for Zucotti Park. It wasn't some charitable gift to the city, it was a quid pro quo. They got what they wanted, a taller more profitable building, now, they don't like the public using their cement plaza and want to renegotiate.

Brookfield got stimulus money for some green energy cr@p, and they didn't pay their taxes...

The City Forced Brookfield Properties into making Zucotti park and Making it open 24 hours a day unlike every single other City Park.

Monday, December 05, 2011

Ummm.. it's already too late. We passed the point of no return that faithful day that massive bailout whih Hank Paulson handed over for signature. So now we must plan for a post dollar era. So get ready.

Who cares about finance. Yes, we'll have to learn to live with less money. We are a second rate country not due to finance but to poor thought. We've been propagandized to believe it is our materials which determine our quality of life. We've learned to ignore things of value, spirit, comrade, and experience in pursuit of zeros and ones in a computer. Other than food, shelter, utilities, and recreation, I do not find any other need for money.

Innocence and naivety are no excuse. Neither is having time, energy, money invested in the current system.

Here's a Jon Mcnaughton painting depicting a public bound in chains. More info at jonmcnaughton.com.

These companies control critical patents, a lot which shouldn't even be given out as they are public domain or are a patent on genes which is life itself. In the past 30 years, 40,000+ patents have been granted on genes alone, with many more pending. As Harriet Washington mentions, it is profit than triumphs over the health and medical needs of the population.

I've been thinking about what Max Keiser is saying about getting rid of the copyright cartel. My light bulb finally turned on a few weeks ago. Indeed, what a different world it was be without patents and copyright. No longer would there be motivation for money. No more lust of money or greed. The greedy type of people would no longer be in top positions of business and finance. Any discovery would go into the public domain where would improve the world as a whole. The motivation of the discoverer would be to improve humanity not money. We would get a different sort of organizational structure full of workers who would work hard and command these structures with the motivation to add to humanity's well being. Since there is no money at the end of the rainbow, the people motivated by money will not bother to even join or be involved. What kind of jobs will the greedy types have at this point? Unbound by any copyright, trademark, or patent restrictions, labs can use best practices to improve upon what's already known. Discoveries would come quick as they build on top of each other. Best of all it would be real knowledge to add to the public database. After all, that which is free has no market and does not exist in a capitalistic system. Fascinating...

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Awesome collection of mic checks. The Karl Rove one is the best lol. Michelle Bachman walks away with her reptile tail in between her legs. Too many Obamabots at Obama's MIC CHECK. It's about time a new message was present instead of the business as usual propaganda grandiosizing executives at these silly business get togethers.
[Youtube Videos] MIC CHECK Assortment Pack

OCCUPY MORALITY
I just think that analyzing why something is successful and giving credit to one particular event or statistic is not misleading and inaccurate. If A happens, B will happen. If you do A it will lead to B. That is what we are taught to look at in school. It does not work like this. Like mythology, fables, legends, morals of stories, and religion, the gut or point of the story is always taken out and all that is presented is the flavorless skeleton form of a story.
If we look back to history class we were presented with what happened when. And we MIGHT be presented with one or two sentences of the causes of this or that event (wars, riots, strikes, etc). We are never told about the undercurrent, the concoction of causes (there's usually more than 1 cause and relationships between them) which led to the event(s). And there's no questioning why things happened the way they did. If there was questioning, things would become exposed as event A should not necessarily conclude in fashion A unless there a force such as self interest involved.
Lastly, I guess the most important factor that goes into anything (and is usally left out) are people's intents and expectations. There's no real introspection into the populace's thoughts and feelings and to its "leaders" interests. Why do things happen and conclude the way they do? What do people care about? What don't they care about? Are the people moral?
Whenever I meet someone who's involved with charity, I listen to what they are doing. They will continue on and on and on and on about their great plans to change this or that (code for "change the world"). Then I have to stop them, as I am pretty disappointed and exhausted of hearing the naivety. Of course, it takes some experience and time to really get that reaction (light bulb going off in the head) going. I've heard it before. Great expectations and enthusiasm. It takes years (and many examples and repetition of similar programs) to see a pattern by looking at the program conclusion. What effect did they have? Did they really change what they set out to change? The answer is almost always NO, they did meet their stated mission/goals.
Well, why is that? That's something I ask. This question just isn't asked enough. Forensics needs to take place. Introspection and inspection needs to happen alongside some analysis. Branching of events and conclusions based on x and y factors needs to take place. Why did the Plinko chip fall where it did and not the other slots. What were the causes and effects. What were the odds of each path?
So, I stop the great ideas and plans diatribes of the people in these charities to ask a simple question. Why are people in the condition they are in. Perhaps the best example charities trying to reduce poverty. I will ask the charity representative "why are people poor in the first place?". Then a pause. Maybe the answer they will blurt out is "because they need some money.. If they only had the money do A or B". Then I ask, "well looking back, poverty is not a natural human condition. No one wants to be poor. So how did or why it happen?" No answer. Then i will interject "have you looked at the political system? Have you looked at the big businessmen? Have you looked at the corruption? Do you think any of that has anything to do with why the people you are trying to help are in such dire straits?" Still no response. I will continue, "There's a system that's keeping people from succeeding. People are handcuffed. there's people in power that want to keep their power and they way they do that is by keeping other people in chains. Poverty is a form of control and power. Their system is intent on maintaining the status quo and poverty and maleducation are a few of the levers of control. Now do you think, throwing money at the problem will solve it or will it only create a short term resolution? It might even create long term dependence." Then I will be asked, "So what is your solution?". I will respond, "Well, education about the system is step 1. If people don't know what they are facing, they won't know how to proceed to proposing solutions and then executing them." After some time, the conversation will usually conclude with disbelief in my propositions. There is no way such corruption exists. There is no malintent by those in power and control. Hence, the ineffectiveness of nonprofits throughout the ages...
Well from what I've experienced, I can say it's really self interest that's the root of everything. In fact, there's people who would love to enslave others if they could get away with it. What percent of the population thinks this way is up for debate. My experience is it could be the majority in big cities. The bigger the city, the less its people are moral/ethical. Living in smaller cities is just healthier for the mind and soul. My experience in schools with the teachers and students says so. Both were propagandized and had self interests. There was no introspection. It was all about one's interests rather than the interests of the whole. Heck, some of the teachers were racists. A lot were fascists who loved the control. What else could pink slips and detention be? Of course, there were bullies. Now why are there bullies? It's because there isn't a majority to stand up to bullying and to nip it in the bud because the majority are bullies in one way or another. Free lunch one way or another!
Once in awhile a person comes around who thinks about the world and its people and asks a lot of questions. Confucius, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, George Carlin, and so forth. What baffles me is why not everyone thinks in the same manner. Leaders don't create movements. Movements happen by themselves. There's a saying "When the students are ready, the teacher presents him/herself". Now the trick is to put out the message yet stay alive. Take Jesus or MLK Jr. for example. The heretics always go up against the interests of the people. There's enough support out there for the "leaders" of that time to get rid of the heretics, yet stay in power.
In this video, the "leaders" of the movement have been at it for quite a long time (decades), the best example being, Michael Moore. He's always had a message. But his message has been booed and hissed at (take the Academy Awards Iraq War speech for example). Why? Because people have their SELF interests in hand.
So what sparked the Occupy Wall Street movement (#OWS)? Was it the third world child slave labor? NO. Was it the free trade deals such as NAFTA? NO. Was it outsourcing and insourcing? NO. Was it the Patriot Act? NO. Was it ABU GHARIB and Guantanamo Bay or torture? NO. Was it the telecom spying? NO. Was it the 2008 banker bailout? NO. Was it the deregulation (Glass Steagal and Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000? NO. Was it the poverty numbers in the country? NO. Was it the increasing income gap in the county? NO. Was it all the Reagan and Bush wars? NO. Was it the 1 million dead Iraqis? NO. Was it the military budget? NO. Was it the banker bonuses? NO. Was it Enron, Worldcom, shredding of documents at Arthur Anderson? NO. Was it the practices of the IMF and World Bank and WTO? NO. Was it the dismantling of the right to Habeus Corpus? NO. Was it the drone strikes? NO. Well there's plenty more.. So what was it? It was simply that the disaster got to the individual and effected him/her. That's all! There is no great egalitarian ideal that a lot of people work towards. Should I pursue what's good for everyone or should I pursue what's good for me, even though it may harm others? Because of self interest, there will always be future crisis. All we do is jump from one crisis to another.
Education can only help those that want to pursue the egalitarian ideal. The rest use it was a weapon. The rest don't care about anything but themselves. So the question is what percent of the population is what? Let's talk about change in a manner in who can realistically be genuinely changed.
Those in power know the threat to them is ideas, ideals, sympathy, and egalitarian. They hide, coverup, and lie. They create The Matrix. And it takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to see through it and change yourself. Throughout time, people have been gotten rid of. Their damn ideas must be gotten rid off. Hence we have things such as book burnings, witch burnings, public executions, jailings, etc. It's dangerous to have ideas that go up against establishment interests of power and control and the perceived investments of the people.
[Article]Exploring Books Burnings by Richard RJ Eskow
Here's the latest on #OWS featuring Michael Moore, Naomi Klein and a few others...
[Youtube] OWS so far - Occupy Everywhere - Nov 2011

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope everyone experienced an enjoyable holiday.
Watching this documentary about a man raising and living with wild turkeys reveals that animals talk and communicate and have much greater awareness of the surroundings than what we are made to believe. They also have a sense of curiosity, have a streak of playfulness, and even experience joy.
[Video] - PBS's My Life as a Turkey
Sorry, no embedding

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Ah ha! Someone said it! Shut down the stock exchange! I've been saying it all along (see my Oct 29th comment)! Check out the end of this video:
Btw, that was really dumb of the establishment to bring attention to the #Occupiers. They set abuzz the hornets nest which brought the limelight back upon the protesters. Coverage of the Occupy protests was dying down as there was no new news to report. And yes this was coordinated by someone high up (most likely the Chamber of Commerce) as all the Occupy camps got raided at about the same time, in the same manner, using the same lame excuses such as the camp was dirty, it was health hazard, and that it stood as as being unsafe in terms of crime and violence. What doesn't make sense to me is why they raided, ransacked, and confiscated all the material possessions at the camp knowing they would allow the protesters to return and resettle in the same place. Seems like an espionage mission to get information such as members, organizations, and contacts that are involved and perhaps to sniff out upcoming plans.
So back to the idea of blockading (don't they blockade in wars?) the stock market with 100,000s of people surrounding the buildings and underground corridors so that employees can't get to work and business as usual can't continue... This would be true crowd sourcing! How would this work? Let's get into the hypothetical scenario much deeper...
The blockade would, of course, have to happen on a weekday. People would have to take the day off and potentially be arrested. The NYSE opens at 9:30am. Workers probably show up long before that. The disruption would start when critical NYSE employees are delayed or cannot show up to work.
If we look at the metal barricades in Michael Moore's fantastic video, they can be turned around and used in the protesters' favor by being instrumental in a blockade and even block the authorities in! People can begin forming the blockade outside the police lines as they surround the neighboring blocks and not all any employees in.
[Youtube] Michael Moore on #OWS interviews near the stock market
And from today.. A fantastic interview on Democracy Now! by Arundhati Roy. She covers both #OWS and the genocide in India, and the realization that both are connected because they are the result of the same criminal cabal.
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Somewhere there is a recording or video of Arundhati Roy's speech to Occupy Wall Street. I hope I run into it shortly as I am anxious to hear it!
[Video] Arundhati Roy on Democracy Now! speaking about Occupy Wall Street
And lastly, here is a video of the police disguising themselves as Occupy Oakland protesters. People's tax dollars hard at work!
[Youtube] Police join Occupy Oakland movement as fake protesters

Monday, November 07, 2011

Give it up Leslie Stahl. You know how the game is played. Stop pretending that you don't know about the corruption, cover ups, and lies. After all, you work for CBS / 60 minutes and you have to play by their rules.
As for the interview, I was laughing all the way through. As if one is so naive that he/she doesn't know what's really going on... The interview just confirmed everything I've known about politicians, the laws, the game, and the characters/personality. Think of it as another Wikileak.
Of course, the people making the laws want to corrupt themselves! Why have laws to deny yourself? Have laws work to your advantage! And don't forget about that cushy job after that resume builder job as a Congressman! LOL Don't you think Obama is resume building too, just like Tony Blair who's working for JP Morgan now?
Here are the politicians.. oops... "leaders" who people look up to. They're quite dumb aren't they? But they are surely crafty. They seek indulgence and love selling everything they can get their hands on for a ride on easy street.
PS: I have a lot more time coming up this month so I'll be posting all the stuff that's piled up and laying on the backburner. There's some jaw dropping stuff coming up later this week! Just mix with some time and interest!
[Youtube] Jack Abramoff on 60 Minutes
Sorry embedding disabled.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The future is wide open for Egypt, as hopes, dreams, and wishes sway bountifully amongst its people. The future is what one makes of it.

The Revolution continues... here in America... Egpytian freedom fighters visit Wall Street to show solidarity, give some encouragement, and of course, share some valuable pointers on how to throw the dictators out.

"Freedom is very expensive" -- Asmaa Mahfouz

The US was sending everyday for the Mubarrak regime, and now the ?scaff?. While they were giving money, and power, and support to the Mubarrak regime, our people, Egyptian people, can success against all of this, against the US power, so power to the people - not the US, or bombs, or money..." -- Asmaa Mahfouz

Sunday, October 23, 2011

In his newsletter from awhile back, John Perkins speaks of dreams and reality being formed from dreams. Whatever your imagination conjures up will define the reality around you. If you wish to prize a fancy house and a fancy car, then those will be your life pursuit. If you look away from world problems then they will remain there unattended. Greed, apathy, devaluation and monetization of life. If these values are what are sought after they become one's reality. If one pursues justice, humanity, poverty/starvation reduction, or peace, those will become one's reality. If a critical mass of people seek the same thing, it becomes reality.

What you see around you has come out of people's imagination. Going to work 8 to 5. Watching tv. Skyscrapers, cars, houses.. Poverty, waste of energy and resources, uneven distribution of food and resources, indoctrinated schooling, mainstream religion.. It's all accepted as being the only way. But it is not.

Presented are two newsletters from John Perkins. The first one talks about the problems. The second one presents the solution. It is he changing of our imagination and consciousness.
Imagination, vision, dreams, hope and wishes are powerful. They define one's self, who in turns, defines the world. So go pursue whatever you wish to. You are free to do so!

From Istanbul: The Real Question - and Answer

By John Perkins

Dear friends,

As I prepare to give the keynote address at a conference of more than 4000 Eurasian leaders in the information and communications fields (ICT Summit Eurasia), and as I walk through this very ancient city, visiting sites that date back thousands of years, I’m struck by these 3 facts: For the first time in human history:

we are all impacted by the same crises, including climate chaos, diminishing resources, increasing prices for food, fuel and other essentials, overpopulation, and species extinctions;

we are all communicating with each other through the internet and cell phones; and

we have created a global economy that is a terrible failure, where 5 % of us (living in the U.S) consume 30% of the resources, while nearly 50% of the world’s people are starving or close to starvation.

We must ask ourselves how we will reconcile these 3 facts. Will we be wise enough to see that 1 and 3 require that we use 2 to transform ourselves and our societies? In doing so, we can insure that our offspring will grow up in a world they will thank us for. Or will we stumble along our current path of denial? And create a world that no child will want to inherit.

The global economic crisis is a symptom and a messenger. It has exposed our darkest secrets. The most materialistic and wealthiest nation in the history of the world, the U.S., also has the highest rates of suicide, drug abuse, murder, incarcerations, and other negative social factors. Our economy is based on fighting wars – killing people and ravaging the planet – trading paper (mergers, derivatives, etc.), and selling each other things most of us don’t need. Meanwhile our planet is drowning in pollution, people are starving, our resources are dissipating, and our animals and plants are disappearing at shocking rates.

So, the question we must ask ourselves and those in charge of providing information and communications (like the ones I’m speaking to here in Istanbul – and I will ask them this) is: Will we continue to use our new-found ability to communicate with everyone on the planet to talk about fashion, sports, and the love lives of movie stars? Or will we use our networks to let our corporate and political leaders know that we insist on creating an economy driven by a commitment to providing every person with adequate food, shelter, and social services; cleaning up the polluted air, land, and water; developing more efficient forms of transportation; and drastically reducing energy consumption and redirecting its production to sustainable technologies?

The answers seem obvious, don’t they?

John

The World is As You Shapeshift It

By John Perkins

I’ve been thinking lately in terms of how shapeshifting into compassion can be a choice for all of us on a daily basis. Many of the greatest events in history started with one person’s commitment to shapeshift toward a more compassionate and just world for all. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson, Jane Goodall, the Dalai Lama, Jesus Christ, and all the great spiritual leaders chose to focus on creating just such a world.

Most recently we saw the passing of the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for combining environmentalism with social and political activism. Wangari Maathai, was the founder of the Green Belt Movement; over three decades she inspired economically disadvantaged women to plant more than 30 million trees in Kenya. Maathai was also the inspiration behind the UN Environmental Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign, which has planted more than 11 billion trees to date.

What wondrous trees will be passed on for centuries to her descendants and my grandson’s descendants – all because of one woman planting one seed that then multiplied into millions!

From a shamanic perspective, shapeshifting begins with a dream, an intent. You then give it energy if you want it to truly occur in this world. Action follows. Intent, energy and action: Only when these three human forces are in place can you have true shapeshifting. The shamans believe we are one with everything, including the mountains, the plants, and the animals. Therefore if we are to support the idea of true peace, we must look at a much bigger concept than human existence. We must look for peace and compassion in all things.

Several years ago I was blessed to sit beside the Dalai Lama on a flight over the Himalayas. He and I talked about compassion and shapeshifting. I asked him, “What will it take, your Holiness, for us to have peace?”

“Well,” he responded, “you know, we cannot have peace until we have taken action that reflects our compassion, and our willingness to take responsibility.” He then added, “Peace can only come from taking responsibility for all forms of life…all sentient beings, including the insects.”

One of the most compassionate and important things we can do is create societies that deeply honor the earth and all sentient beings everywhere – cultures that by their nature will create a peaceful place for the trees, the rabbits, the spiders, the whales, and the tadpoles.

In order to have peace we must consistently shapeshift away from war and fear, away from greed and exploitation. We must shapeshift into a commitment to end all poverty and instead embrace compassion.

You and I can take one step today and plant a tree in our own backyard, in our community, or at a neighborhood school in honor of Wangari Maathai. Then you and I can plant the seeds of compassion every single day. We can spread these seeds among everyone we meet and everywhere we go in this incredibly beautiful world.

He's back... David Icke's latest message to #Occupy is to watch out for any global governance, not be co-opted, and to fix money creation so that it is interest free.
[Youtube] David Icke's speech for #Occupy

Saturday, October 22, 2011

This does not bode well for Libya. These people will now be in charge of Libya? It was not civilized the way the gang went after Muammar Gaddafi and assassinated him. Of course, the US, UK, French involvement can only be described as laden with war criminality. Let's see Hillary Clinton just as bloodied. Justice always finds its way regardless of all barriers.

As wasn't the case with Osama, lessons learned, here, a body is produced.

Sunday, October 02, 2011

The day the public is in favor of blocking all avenues of bankers getting to work in NY will be the day of victory and jubilation. It will mark the beginning of a new era, Til then people will get beaten, harassed, jailed, spied on, and subjected.

I've always wondered how much is enough. What does one do once they reach a certain bank account value? Unfortunately, most people cannot imagine anything useful to do with their time once they reach a threshold where they are free from any burdens.

Here's a study that shows materialism buys security. It comes down to materials vs. love. Which is available and sought after more? It may explain why some people (excluding psychopaths) behave the way they do.

The first is on the lives of the Chilean Miners post-rescue. Their lives are just as bad as before. I've always said people that work a job should have a dignified livelihood. There's one scene where a billionare who made money off the copper mines flies in to give $10,000 to each of the miners' families. So that's where all the money went. And I bet he worked so hard it was worth a billion! And so were the other investors!

The second is on Bahrain where the people demanded change only to get crushed by the Saudi Arabian military. nevertheless, the flame is not extinguished as every night there's a shout on top of roofs at night for the longing of freedom. The US military stands idly by lending its support to the Bahraini King. If only the Bahraini King defied the US would there be rebels with guns as in Libya (sarcasm)...

Government, Politicians, Mainstream News Media, Heads of Corporations, Trade Organizations, Banks... What they say and what they do are two different things. Perception does not fit reality. Guru P. Sainath debunks them all.

There's two sets of speeches. The second set is harder to hear but is quite interesting.

The making of sausage. here's a look at the studio recording of Lagaan's Mitwa song. And remember A.R. Rahman? He's the one that wrote that now popular song from Slumdog Millionare. I've always called Slumdog Millionare a mediocre film as there's better Indian movies and song out there. I think this song has much more depth. It's just much better!

Hopes.. Dreams.. What is it that makes up the imagination and soul of a person? With a twinkle in the eye, tell a tale of what is to be and that which should happen. They open up possibilities and their reach are limitless. Where will one's hopes and dreams take him/her tomorrow? Will they conclude with a smile? Without hopes and dreams, one is only a zombie.

Here are some Indian music videos from the movies Lagaan and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

First watch the captions from the song Mitwa from the movie Lagaan. It contain a better version of the lyrics. The actual video from the movie is included next. Then finish with
Mitwa from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

Here's the other video. Just a word of caution. This video has a great message, but it's circumstance isn't the finest. It shows two couples breaking up and finding each other. But that's not why I want to show the video. The tune and lyrics are why. I'm sure the song writer didn't intend his song to be used by Bollywood as such but here it is anyways.

Here's the synopsis by someone that posted a comment:"Dev (Shahrukh) is married to Riya (Preity), but is unhappy in this relationship and is always in a bad mood. Maya (Rani) and Rishi (Abhishek) are also a married couple, but maya﻿ is also unhappy because she dont love her husband. when Maya and Dev met, a lovestory begins..."

Friday, August 26, 2011

India is having it's own little revolt-lite against corruption. Lots of people are showing up in the streets to demand reform. The catalyst? Anna Hazare, who is on his 6th+ day of a hunger strike. The demand is that legislation called the Jan Lokpal Bill be passed in order to curb corruption.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

When you need to government to give you necessary information for your safety and well being, what do they do? Purposely cover-up and hide the pertinent information and pretend like nothing has happened. In doing so, the government endangers the lives on thousands of people.

Realtime simulations on computers systems already in place for a nuclear disaster like Fukushima spat out information that foretold where the radiation would spew out. Whatever the case, the Japanese government put up a road block to any useful dissemination of evacuation information. let this be a lesson not to trust or rely on the government for anything in case of an emergency.

The simulation reminds me of Katrina where Ivor van Heerden ran simulations at Louisiana State University which correctly predicted the outcome of a category 5 storm. Based on post analysis, he started pointing fingers at the culprits. He was fired for it.

So the SEC cover-ups the fraud schemes of high finance? I suspect it's all departments in government. The government officials go through a revolving door and use the government job as a resume builder. They then move back into the private sector where the companies they played patty caked with hire them with a nice high salary payoff. It's good old fashioned bribery in disguise.

As as mentioned before, the higher up ones goes in an organization, the more corrupt it gets. Unfortunately, the people at the bottom have to follow the commands from the top. Therein lies the rub.

Jobs are like money. It doesn't just disappear. It had to go somewhere. Let me tell you about my personal experiences in the IT job sector...

I've been unemployed on and off for a good part of the 2000s decade. It was so easy to be working in the late 1990s. But I suspect at that time, the multinationals and the big companies already had a 10 year plan to insource and outsource. So why hire someone and train them? The companies do not want to invest in someone they won't be hiring in 10 years! In the late 1990s I was looking for good job experience. It was a catch 22. No one seemed like they wanted to bring onboard and train. Anyways, over time I figured out that fulltime positions were not secure and that contracting would be just as volatile yet more profitable. This is what I do now. I really find it funny when a company looks at my resume and tells me they want someone who has been working long term with a company for many many years. They don't want someone leaving after hiring them. Then I remember they said early on in the interview that they have the open position to fill because they just had a layoff.

Anyways here's what I saw at various places. When I was a contractor at IndyMac Bank in late 2007 (this was right before they went bust were taken over by the FDIC), I saw 80% of the cubicles empty. And a lot of the back office jobs were filled were by H1s. They were hired by (I forget the exact name now) ?Conversant?. So it's cheaper to pay $300-$500 a month to H1Bs, fly them over, pay for food and living expenses then hire someone from here. The reason given for H1B sponsorship? There are a lack of qualified candidates with the relevant skills. So Indymac Bank couldn't find people to fill back office jobs?

A couple of years ago, I was interviewing for a nonprofit government funded mortgage help customer relations company. I walk through a room with almost all H1B filled IT positions.

More recently, early this year, I was interviewing for work. I was given a tour of the areas. And what do I see? In the IT room see a bunch of H1Bs. I see at least half the department was H1B.

I don't mind jobs being outsourced, but insourcing is a big no-no. There's a lot of unemployed people! Plus most, if not all, these companies are breaking the law. The law states you must pay the same wage to an H1B candidate as a local candidate.

Anyways, the worst part about all this... I see people in IT (some unemployed) that are not offended by this practice. They keep voting for the same politicians!

Part of this has to do with coddling the rich. Buying into their propaganda is foolish and dangerous. Here's a good article on that.

Furthermore, here's an article by Crooks and Liars on Microsoft crying uncle over unable to fill jobs with qualified candidates. What they mean by qualified is working long hours for pennies for the dollar without any complaints. By the way, why would they have periodic layoffs if the job applicants are in short supply?

Comments:"...have been for 25 years. MS does nothing in this country to help this country. Since the H1Bs were allowed in my wages have gone stagnant whereas they were rising before. Now it gets harder every year to be able to afford new systems, software upgrades, new software purchases, books, classes, travel, etc. to stay on top of the ever changing market.

Before the goverment hands out any more H1Bs, MS should be required to bring all support centers back to the US. They should offer free training to the support people who wish to move up into programming and beyond. This will solve the 2 problems. First problem of calling MS support and trying to speak to someone in India. If "excellent communication skills" are required then that requirement should apply to people who work in other countries too. Second problem, training for needs of the company from within.

I would favor tax benefits to companies who provide low cost (deeply discounted) software to IT professionals trying like hell to keep up with the new technology. Upgrades should be free to IT people.

MS should become more involved in US universities. If they are not graduating students with the skills needed then they need to work to change that here in the US.

MS should be required to pay each H1B a salary that is higher than the current wage for a US citizen in that position. If the person they are bringing in truly has badly needed skills then pay for those skills. This would probably kill the H1B program since MS is primarily trying exploit H1Bs. In addition they should pay a tax equal that persons salary to improve education and training in this country.

Last, let's be very clear here. Foreign citizens education is subsidized by their goverments. Here the student is exploited and left with heavy loans to pay off. They can work for "shit in a bucket" while Americans cannot. That is not fair trade, it's exploitation."

Here's another one:"I'm old enough to recall all the pro-biz propaganda in the media in the 1970's about how if we'd just remove the 'dead hand' of government regulations off of the backs of Big Biz, we'd have paradise through greater efficiency, lower costs, etc. 'Laffer Curves', and all that crap. Well, we gave the businessmen what they wanted, and almost from the get-go we got monstrosities like the S & L debacle...for which we are STILL paying for. And plenty of off-shoring, which cost me my job in the 1990's. So, whenever I hear these three-piece suits mouthing off about how much more we have to give up in order to achieve their version of paradise, I recall what they've done already; their rapaciousness knows no bounds."

And another one:"I worked in San Jose and the surrounding area for 40 years, and there was not a single day, in 40 years that Microshaft didn't bitch about not enough folks to fill the jobs they had so they had to go overseas.. It was a LIE back over those 40 years and it's a LIE today. The meme from Microsoft senior counsel Brad Smith is COMPLETE hogwash and the words he spoke, even to Congress, has not changed one word since the early 70's.

It's as clear today as it was in 1975-ish time frame - Microshaft and other large, hi-tech firms in the US DISCRIMINATE INTENTIONALLY against Americans and others over 40 - always. Anything else you hear is a LIE. I've even seen folks in the Valley with jobs but thinking about moving on, intentionally staying away from Microshaft because they knew what kind of discrimination Gates and Bomber practiced and didn't even entertain talking to Microsoft about moving over.... Microshaft didn't get a slice of US talent because that talent DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO Microshaft....

The whole lack of talent is mostly of Microshaft's own doing. Don't let them get away with more years of LIES and more discrimination..."

One more, it's succinct:"...then hire some good people and train them ffs"

Ok, I lied, one more:"I work this industry. I've been an IT worker for the last 20 years of my life and this is just flat out lies.

The talent is here in America. The problem is that if MS starts hiring American again then their offshored worker contracts start to get more expensive because there are cost incentives in the contracts for continued growth.

Also speaking as a recipient of the outsourced product, (Outsource firms send the results of their work to my team for eventual product issue resolution.) I can say with 100% certainty that the product is inferior compared to the product I received from American workers.

No I am not prejudiced. If the product I received was better I wouldn't complain. Unfortunately, it isn't."

On the Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox, Dr. Michio Kaku speaks about the 100 / 1000 year natural occurrences. He speaks of sunspots and the possibility of worldwide power grid failure which can lead to disasters such as Fukushima. So thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that we're going to destroy this livable planet by worshiping the Money God by supporting psychopathic leaders and their ideas for short term profits. Katrina, BP oil spill, Fukushima.. The list will grow in numbers and magnitude until we have made inhabiting the Earth sub-optimal.

AAAND THIS ONE'S NOT TO BE MISSED! Here's a documentary on nuclear engineers going about collecting soil samples for measuring nuclear contamination. On their way they meet people whose lands and livelihoods have been taken away from them so that a few businessmen and those working in the nuclear industry can keep their jobs.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

I used to chat online with Shehla Masood about India's corruption. I would provide her links to videos and to this blog to better inform her about the system and its internal mechanisms. She opened up a facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/shehla.masood. She was a dedicated activist fighting corruption and wrongs in India.

Needless to say it's a shock when something happens hits home, right within the sphere of your consciousnesses. Today, i am sad to announce that I found out that Shehla Masood has been assassinated. The greedy coward psychopaths were responsible for it. They tried to declare it a suicide but people are not buying it.

This assassination comes at a time when the Indian public is up and arms about corruption. The Indian government has detained an anti-corruption activist by the name of Anna Hazare. The public is marching on the streets demanding his release and reformation of the system.

Here are a few posts I made on the facebook group wall today:"I used to chat with and email Shehla about her activism. I didn't know much about her but I used to get the updates from this group in my email. One person can make a difference but it's dangerous when only one person is rowing against the current. It makes them an easy and vulnerable target. Activists, there is a something to learn here. Do not sacrifice yourself for a public that is uncaring and unsupportive of the causes Shehla and activists like her fight for. Like Egypt, when and if people are ready to correct things, they will correct. The best way to defeat the enemy is by educating the masses by exposing and pointing out the crimes. The Egyptians first had to educate themselves first to know what they were fighting exactly. They then had to act as as a mass. People are so stubborn, they don't do anything until the worst of circumstances are upon them. My deepest condolences to the Shehla's family and thank you Shehla for being such a wonderful human being."

"To show solidarity, each individual in India should open a new RTI case in her memory, just as Shehla had done. Or join the organizations she joined to save the wildlife,etc and go protest (as an activist) on her behalf just once. Show strength not weakness."

"People, get together and continue to work of Shehla Masood. Follow up on her RTI requests to their end. Show the dastardly crooks that they cannot stop what's been started. They have to fear us more than we fear them."

RTI = Right To Information. The government must produce public documents when request of information is filed.

Oh and btw, that US Treasury bond downgrade to AA+.. That was expected. Was it really a surprise?

Now here's my thoughts...

The banks and insiders are blackmailing the government into giving them more. That "more" could be a greater piece of the budget, tax breaks, decriminalization, policy enactments, more bailout, foreign wars, etc. Whatever it is, it is just a rouse to tank the economy and stock market to scare them into producing a policy to the insiders' benefit.

All the while, the people of the Republic let it happen. Here's a great blog post from Vincenzo on the IrvineHousingBlog that I have been saving up:

Alexander Tyler was a 18th century historian/economist who wrote “The Cycle of Democracy” in 1778.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship.

The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years.

These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.”

And then we have the ghost malls... EconCat88 braves Chinese security to bring us first hand, jaw dropping, eye candy horror footage of The New South China Mall, which, at the present, is a ghost mall. Built in 2005, it is self dubbed "The World's Largest Mall". Alas, it is a relict of the credit bubble of the Go-Go 2000s. Things that make you go WOAHHHHHH.

Why does the government build stuff that will never get utilized? Isn't it a crime when there's poor people in China that could use some of that money? What I suspect is the construction of buildings that will be left vacant is deliberate. The Chinese government has way too much money and needs to dispose of it. If they give this money to poor people, it will create demand for goods which will create inflation. So in order to control inflation they have to not allow that money into circulation. And what better way to throw money into the fireplace AND increase the GDP numbers at the same time than to blow it on unoccupied store malls and whole ghost towns? The corrupt class (construction firms, bankers, government officials) get their money who blow it on gambling, real estate, and the stock market. And then it's time to tear the ghost buildings down....

EconCat88 films brings us footage from the "shopping streets" of Kunming, China.

Just a few notes here. If the stores in buildings can't compete with vendors on the street that doesn't mean you should get rid of the street vendors. That just means the street vendors are the more efficient business model. If the stret vendors are declared unlawful and cleared out all that really means is people have to pay more in stores in buildings. So why the are building stores there? Primarily to feed money to the rentiers and esablished status quo. They got to have their cut! Rents aren't cheap! How much of the money you spend on goods actually goes to the actual price of a good? How much of the money that's spent at a restaurant actually goes towards the food? Do you really think the food vendors at Disneyland that make much from a $10 hamburger? Does most of that go to Disneyland?

Furthermore, instead of building empty malls, they could've built areas for the small guys to hawk their wares.

I remember in India, they've outlawed street vendors during the day because they compete with the establishment. Why outlaw capitalism and competition? If street vending is the more efficient and effective model, why keep people from benefitting from it? And the food WAS better through a street vendor. I saw him make it right in font of the cart. And it's so much cheaper. And the money will go a longer way for him than a restaurant in a building. There's the money will go towards rent, utilities, taxes, his house mortgage (which goes to the bankers), his car payment, and other establishment rentiers.

P Sainath gives a speech at University of Texas, Austin, May 2011. He goes through the lies the media perpetrates and the failure of neoliberalism. Remember, Indians are infatuated with the rapid GDP increase which suggests an almost perfect economic model.

In a land where McDonalds is considered high class, sit down eat out, poverty is rising. It's a tale of two classes and a propagandized middle class caught in between. What I can't understand is how people can still believe the mass media post 2008. The proof is in the pudding right before everyone eyes, an elephant in the room.

"India Shining" forgot about the majority of the poor people... Their incomes are decreasing. Their costs are going up. Starvation is on the rise. Who's out there to care?

So the recent revolutions were food price hike bsaed. It's really sad how much else people put up with before there is an uprising. What about all the other things wrong in the world? Do most people just go about their day and put up with the injustices. It's easy to dismiss if they don't don't effect one's self personally.

Ahhhh!! Protests in the streets of Israel... High prices creating misery and dispair for everyone. But people only pop out into the streets when they're affected. Forget about ideals, morals, and justice for other people.

There is a common enemy. It's class warfare. The haves vs the have nots. Power vs the powerless. The policymakers vs he policy supporters. The enemy is same for everyone. Yet what stands in the way everywhere? That's right. Self interest. Let things go into the crapper. Then wonder what happened? All along people have been warning of events that are now taking place. They are often ignored and ridiculed. Then the party drink bowl runs low. People come out into the streets to demand more.

High real estate prices. High food prices. PROTEST! It's all simple economics. Your leaders and elites run an apartheid program. People benefit off apartheid. That's something to talk about later (euphemism to not talk about it at all). It's all too inconvenient. It's ll too lobotomatic.

High food prices brought about the Arab Spring. Now it's Israel's turn. It's all about human rights and dignity after all. Everyone wants it and needs it.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Weekdays in Vegas are awesome. Driving from LA is more sane and the crowds are more classy. Avoid the weekends when all the LA douchebags show up!

I stayed at Circus Circus (West Tower is nicest) and Riviera. At Riviera, try to stay in the Monaco Tower. It was actually much nicer than Circus Circus and much much nicer than the other Riviera rooms. It was so nice, heck, it didn't even seem like it was part of Riviera. I believe it's their newest tower.

The atmosphere at Fremont Downtown was awesome. There was nice warm weather and lots of folks and music and costumed characters! I went around 8-9pm. Got validated for 4 hours at California for parking in their garage, Binions has 3 hours validation, and Main Street Station has validated outdoor parking too but it's more of a walk. The Downtown Fremont Street Experience was the highlight of my trip. Go NOW to Vegas to enjoy the warm night weather before it gets too hot or winter cold!

Now to crown the king of all buffets.. The buffet at Cosmopolitian was awesome. I had the lunch for $22 like around 1:15pm (they close it at 2pm). I would say they have the BEST buffet in town, surpassing Bellagio and Wynn. They spice up a lot of things (desserts had a bit of a kick). They give one free drink, of which, I had the bloody mary. It had a lot of black pepper that dissolved as I drank it. Quite a kick! Hence the name Wicked Spoon. How true is their slogan "Just the right amount of wrong"! Dinner will be like $35. Oh Cosmo has a secret pizza place on the third floor and a slice is only like $3.75. Ask around on the 3rd floor if you can't find it! In the garage, they have a west and east elevator. If driving into the parking garage, drive to the end and park. It's close to the east elevator (valet area), which takes you up to the 2nd floor and third floors where the restaurants are right there. It's still quite a walk to get to the Wicked Spoon buffet though!

Also, while you're at Cosmo you can get $100 in losses refunded with $100 of credit! And if you play at the Book & Stage bar, the bartender will give you free drinks (depends on the time you play). Also, there's one other place where they will give you free drinks too but I don't remember the name. Ask around.

As for shows, I saw the Lion King (30% off found on BroadwayBox.com). I sat in the FRONT row. Unfortunately, my head was below stage level so I couldn't see all the way down to the feet nor could I see the surface of the stage so I did miss some of the action. It was an okay show (not quite my type of show). There were a lot of blacks at the show! I prefer Phantom of the Opera.

Then I saw Mike Hammer at Four Queens at 7pm. He was hilarious! They have a $9.95 bookmark/card near players club there which was about half off admission. The coupon came with a free (well) drink. It's a low budget show but the guy has quite a bit of personality. A lot of people brought kids to the Hammer show since it's PG. They also have a drag queen show "La Cage" at 9pm at Four Queens that looks funny which I haven't seen. It was perfect timing to go see the Hammer show, since I can hit the Fremont Experience at 8pm and enjoy the warm weather and festive crowd.

Next I saw Absinthe at Caesars Palace (cheaper tickets available at tix4tonite). Tix4tonite has $2 off coupon on their website. This ticket cost me about $50. It was a funny adult show hosted in the round circus tent built out of wood in open air at the Beer Garden. It's quite a walk and takes awhile to find but it's right near the strip where everyone walks (near Serendipity, the restaurant bldg right on the strip). Overall, it was entertaining. The ring leader was dressed like Hitler and made lewd jokes. Definitely low brow rumor, but hilarious at times.

No magic this trip (well Mike Hammer did some magic tricks)!

Oh Tropicana has $200 back (it's like $100 right away and $100 on your next trip) if you lose. My parents did ok there. And Las Vegas Club casino downtown advertises itself as having the loosest slots. Me and my parents played there and didn't do so well, so buyer beware.

While at Tropicana, I did hit up the Mob Experience (I got a Groupon for $19 for it). It was.... Well if you have time to waste go, else there's better options.. The most interesting thing was the government throwing Meyer Lansky out of his casino ownership and him complaining about all the bad things the government did. I listened to a bit of his speech and am hoping to find it on the internet somewhere. Also, they were playing a film on how the mob didn't want Hollywood's Godfather movie made. Hoping to find that online somewhere too.

Anyways, when you're in Vegas time flies, so have a schedule ready or else you will miss out on shows and stuff like I did. The tough part is getting in dinner and shows since they both happen about the same time.

I wish I had another 3 days to see all the shows and take advantage of the gambling cash back programs. I didn't use the one at Cosmo :(.

Me Organized? Hardly! If I was, I would've done a lot more things! I wanted to go see so many more shows like Nunsense (religious humor), Cashetta (drag queen), and Jan Rouven, a European magician looked real nice from Youtube! Other ones I haven't watched that i wanted to were The Magic of Paris, The Amazing Johnathan, and Marriage can be Murder.

Ah ha! I knew it! Geothermal can replace nuclear power for Japan. And of course you do have to work on the other side of the equation.. Conservation and efficency.

And did you hear the US is #1 in geothermal energy resources? And it's not being developed? A geothermal plant that's covered up like a cell phone tower shouldn't affect a national park at all. A building or two in a park isn't going to harm anyone or anything. Something has to give.

What are you waiting for Japan? Build it! Expensive? How expensive is dirty nuclear energy? I'd like to see a bar graph that shows the nuclear energy bar shooting up high when all costs and dangers are considered.

Friday, July 01, 2011

OMG! The money is Afghanistan has been looted! Come on, is it really a surprise? Abdul Qadir Fitrat, the Afghan central bank governor (their Ben Bernake), reports first hand of the malfeasance. Let's just say for Abdul to get to where he was, he was not an innocent lamb as self-portrayed. However, kudos for him for coming out.

Crooked businessmen and politicians operating in the dark with access to what is supposd to be the public's money, safely secured in a bank vault. Instead, it's liable to become a personal laundering fund for those in power that deem it to be theirs. Your deposit becomes the bank's money, and for whoever owns the banks or has access to them, it becomes their money. This is how banks end up having no money.

US banks dabbling in mortgage securities, CDOs, and derivatives. In India, the state run bank which is also the largest bank in India, SBI, annually forgives loans to large corporates, industry magnates, politicians, and others in high places. Money laundering and theft comes in many different flavors. Who's really in control? Are there any barriers and regulations? And if the light gets shined, will the money actually be there as said?

Inflation is the barometer of the amount of corruption in any country. High inflation just means larger amounts of money have been looted.

Thomas Sheridan uncovers another golden nugget. He talks about the "potato famine" and the root causes. Needless to say, psychopaths were involved.

I've always had this instinctual revulsion of ruthless, unethical, uncaring, narcissistic people getting in power and having a say over everyone and everything. The instinct is like fighting back against an immediate threat, say an attacker. And I've had the deepest disgust for people who let it happen and allow the consequences to take place.

When bailouts and wars happen is when I look around and ask why others aren't worried about the dire consequences?

Monday, June 27, 2011

I just saw this hilarious commercial on Youtube and I just HAD to share it. It features Boost Mobile's BS Detection Center and stars Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) mixed martial artist Rampage Jackson (real name Quinton Ramone Jackson). And he doesn't put up with any bullshit!

Let's go back in the time machine to 2006. Dixie Chicks were in hot water, as was Michael Moore, for calling out the Bush Administration as a bunch of LIARS. Looking back, I can laugh about it now. The MADtv sketch really brings out the silliness of group think and unintentionally points out the hilarious "rebranding" of the lead singer.

Silence! Shut up! We can't have criticism or logically look at corruption! LOL.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Here's Al Jazeera reporting that a reduced calorie diet cures type 2 diabetes. Imagine a cure that does not require the medical profession! I suspect it's not just calorie restriction, but rather lessening the eating of sugar and starchy foods that cause higher insulin levels. Most common examples include potatoes, pasta, table sugar.

You can bet the medical industrial complex would like the sweep this report under the rug!

Monday, June 20, 2011

I found this out over the weekend by chance. I typed in Lady Gaga on google.com and found the link to my blog on the first page, at the bottom as the last search result!! I haven't gotten any visitors off the link though.... Strange.

PS: It only works off of USA's google search and not on google in other countries.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Well, between the job and summer, I haven't really given much attention to the blog. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and take advantage of the summer. It's time to get away from the computer, at least for a bit, and exercise and think and wonder new things. It's good for you.

On Saturday, I biked the whole of Monterey Bay Coastal Bike Trail. It's paved and separate from vehicle traffic. I went up to Lover's Point on the Monterey Peninsula. It's true, they still have sardines at Cannery Row. The place was packed chock full of people! The private parking lots wanted to charge $15 to $18 just to park! I ended up parking at Fisherman's wharf in the public parking lot which cost me $10 for the whole day. I then rented a bike from Adventures of the Seas which is right there. That cost me $25. Gotta pay a hefty price when you don't have a vehicle to transport a bike! Bikes are plentiful on Craigslist for the price of the rental.

Anyways back to the bike trail.. I went up to Lover's point and then back down and then cycled north to the end of the trail somewhere in northern part of Marina where the trail ends on Del Monte Blvd. I then pedaled back down to Fisherman's Wharf. It was about 4.5 hours of fun.

The next weekend? I'll probably do some kayaking near Moss Landing / Elkhorn Slough or take the Kayak tour in Monterey Bay and visit Monterey Bay Aquarium. If I am up near Moss Landing, I'll be sure to eat at Phil's. I've heard great things about the restaurant.

I've got a LG Optimus V cellphone on Virgin Mobile waiting for me that I will start using to take pictures of the area and post them on the blog starting in July. That will finally introduce me to the world of a smartphone. Yes, I still use a 20th century cellphone that I use to ONLY make calls on, and I use the minutes sparingly.